Accelerator-controlling device



Aug. L 1939;. A. E. JOHNSON v ACCELERATOR-CONTROLLING DEVICE Filed May 4, 1933 2 Sheets-Sheet JL INVENTOR ATTORN EYE N O S N H O Em M n L E C c A Aug. 1 1939.

CONTROLLING DEVICE Filed May 4, 1938 2 shee'bs sheet 2 ill Q m 2 1."

R O T N E V m ATTORN EYS Patented Aug. 1, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ACCELERATOR-CON TROLLIN G DEVICE Alfred E. Johnson, Woodstock, Ill. Application May 4, 1938, Serial No. 206,070

14 Claims.

This invention relates to an accelerator controlling device for an automobile and has for the primary object the provision of a device of this character which will permit the driver of the automobile to latch the accelerator for retaining the throttle valve, controlled by said accelerator, at variable positions so that the driver may discontinue the manual operation of the throttle valve by said accelerator and which will permit the driver at any time to increase the speed of the engine by the actuation of the accelerator as usual and also permit the driver to delatch the accelerator at any time desired so that the speed of the engine may be increased and decreased through the actuation of the accelerator as now customary in the driving of an automobile.

With these and other objects in View, this invention consists in certain novel features of construction, combination and arrangement of parts to be hereinafter more fully described and claimed.

For a complete understanding of my invention, reference is to be had to the following description and accompanying drawings, in which Figure l is a side elevation partly in section illustrating an accelerator controlling device constructed in accordance with mylnvention and showing the same mounted on a fragmentary portion of an automobile.

Figure 2 is a sectional View taken on line 2--2 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary vertical sectional View showing the device delatched.

Figure 4 is a transverse sectional View taken on line 4-4 of Figure 2.

Figure 5 is a detail sectional View taken on line 5-5 of Figure 2.

Figure 6 is a detail sectional View showing the connection between the present invention and the accelerator pedal of the automobile.

Figure '7 is a fragmentary side elevation, partly in section, showing a modification of the present invention.

Figure 8 is a sectional view taken on line 88 of Figure '7.

Figure 9 is a fragmentary plan view illustrating a clamp for connecting the present invention to a throttle rod.

Figure 10 is a sectional view taken on line l!!lii of Figure 9.

Figure 11 is a fragmentary sectional view showing a modification of the present invention.

Referring in detail to the drawings, the numeral I indicates a housing having a removable cover plate 2. The housing is supported in an upright position on a motor vehicle 3 by a bracket 4. The bracket 4 is preferably located on the motor vehicle so as to position the housing adjacent the steering post 5 of the motor vehicle and the accelerator pedal 6. The housing slidably supports a latch rod 1 and an actuating rod 8. A series of ratchet teeth 9 are formed on the rod 1 to be engaged by a pivotally mounted dog 10. The dog is pivotally mounted in the housing and forms a latch element having connected thereto a coil spring II which is in turn connected on the housing, as shown at E2. One end of the dog II] is beveled, as shown at it, while the opposite end is reduced and disposed angularly to contact the ratchet teeth 9.

A shaft M is mounted in the housing and has journaled thereon a toothed latch plate i5 engaged by the beveled end l3 of the dog it under the influence of the spring II. The teeth of the latch plate l5 form in the periphery of said plate notches I6 and H. The notches iii are of a greater depth than the notches IE. The beveled end of the dog [0 when engaged with any one of the notches I! allows the spring i l to position said dog in engagement with the ratchet teeth 9 and when the beveled end of said dog is in engagement with any one of the notches l6 said dog is held disengaged from the ratchet teeth 9. A ratchet gear i8 is formed in the latch plate and an arcuate shaped dog i9 coacts with the ratchet gear [8 to impart rotation to the latch plate in a step by step movement through a ratchet movement of the ratchet gear 18. The dog I9 is pivotally mounted on the release rod 8, as shown at 2!]. A spring 2! is con.- nected to the housing I as shown at i2 and to the dog [9 acting to urge the dog in engagement with the ratchet gear iii and to permit said dog to ratchet over said ratchet gear during the movement of the actuating rod 8 in one direction. A coil spring 2| is mounted on the actuating rod 8 and has one end secured thereto and its other end bearing on said housing to nor mally urge the rod 8 in one direction. The lower end of the actuating rod 8 is connected to a treadle 2'2 whereby a pressure on the latter moves said rod to impart rotation to the latch plate in one direction for moving the dog ill out of one notch and into the notch adjacent thereto. The latch rod 1 has its lower end angularly disposed to extend through an opening in an attaching plate 23 secured on the accelerator pedal t so that said latch rod will be caused to follow the up and down movementof the accelerator pedal.

The treadle 22 is mounted on the steering post 5 by a clamp 24 including an apertured ear 25 having a rubber mounting 26 therein which receives a rod 2'! forming a part of the treadle 22. The mounting 26 acts as a fulcrum for the rod 21 so that when depressed it may move downwardly to bring about sliding movement of the actuating rod 8 in one direction against the action of the spring 21'. The rod 21 is partly covered by rubber or some other suitable material to prevent the drivers foot from slipping off of the rod when pressing thereon. The treadle 22 is located adjacent the accelerator pedal 6 so that the driver may readily move the foot from the accelerator pedal 6 to the treadle 22 when desiring to operate the present invention.

When the dog [0 engages one of the notches l6 of the latch plate it assumes the position as shown in Figure 3, freeing the latch rod 1 so that the latter may follow the movement of the accelerator pedal 6 permitting the speed of the automobile to be controlled as usual through the foot operation of the accelerator pedal. Whenever it is desired to latch the accelerator pedal in any of its throttle opening positions, the driver presses downwardly on the treadle 22 causing a partial rotation of the latch plate permitting the dog to engage in one of the notches l1 and thereby become engaged with the ratchet teeth 9 of the latch rod 1. Whenever the dog is in engagement with the teeth 9 of the latch rod the accelerator pedal will be prevented from moving into throttle closing position. Any time the driver cares to increase the speed of the vehicle the accelerator pedal is depressed, the dog ratcheting over the teeth 9 and as the vehicle reaches the selected speed the operator may then remove or release the pressure on the accelerator pedal and the latter remains in the position for maintaining the speed of the vehicle at the selected speed. When the driver desires to restore the control of speed of the vehicle to the actuation of the accelerator pedal as in usual automobile driving he again depresses the treadle 22 bringing about a further partial rotation of the latch plate causing the dog It to become disengaged from the notch l1 and to enter a notch l6 and thereby become disconnected from the ratchet teeth 9 freeing the latch rod 1 so as not to interfere with the movement of the accelerator pedal increasing and decreasing the speed of the vehicle as usual.

. The actuating rod 8 extends entirely through the housing I from end to end of the latter and may have applied to one end thereof a cap 2! which will permit a rearrangement of the invention on a motor vehicle so that the driver may engage the cap 21 with the foot when desiring to impart sliding movement to the actuating rod 8. This will eliminate the use of the treadle 22. A showing of this arrangement is made in Figures 7 and 8 of the drawings.

Sometimes it may be desirable to connect the latch rod to a throttle rod, the latter being indicated by the character 28. A clamp 29 is employed for connecting the throttle rod 28 to the latch rod. In some instances it may be desirable to provide the latch rod with a gooseneck end 30 and connect said end to the accelerator pedal, as shown at 3|.

What is claimed is:

1. An accelerator attachment comprising a supporting housing, latch and actuating rods slidably supported by said housing, means for connecting said latch rod to an accelerator, teeth on said latch rod, means for manually operating said actuating rod, a latch plate journalled in said housing and having notches of varying depths, and a spring influenced latch dog engageable with the said latch plate in a manner whereby certain of said notches permit the engagement of the said dog with the teeth of the said latch rod and other of the said notches prevent engagement therebetween.

2. An accelerator attachment comprising a housing, means for mounting said housing on an automobile, latch and actuating rods slidable in said housing, means for connecting said latch rod to an accelerator of the automobile, ratchet teeth formed on said latch rod, foot engaging means connected with said actuating rod, ratchet means journalled within said casing, pawl means pivotally carried by said actuating rod and engageable with the said ratchet means to impart rotation thereto and a latch dog engageable with the said ratchet means in a manner whereby certain positions thereof will permit engagement of the latch dog with the said latch rod and other positions thereof will prevent engagement therebetween.

3. An accelerator attachment comprising a housing, latch and actuating rods slidable in said housing, means for connecting said latch rod to an accelerator, ratchet teeth formed on said latch rod, a foot operated means connected with said actuating rod, a latch dog pivotally mounted in the housing and movable into and out of engagement with the ratchet teeth of said latch rod, a latch plate journaled in said housing and having notches to be engaged by the dog, certain of said notches being of one depth to disengage the dog from the ratchet teeth of the latch rod and the other notches being of a difierent depth to permit engagement of the dog with the ratchet teeth of the latch rod, a spring acting on said dog to maintain the latter in riding engagement with the notches of the latch plate, and a pawl and ratchet mechanism between the actuating rod and the latch plate.

4. An accelerator attachment comprising a housing, latch and actuating rods slidable in said housing, means for connecting said latch rod to an accelerator, ratchet teeth formed on said latch rod, a foot operated means connected with said actuating rod, a latch dog pivotally mounted in the housing and movable into and out of engagement with the ratchet teeth of said latch rod, a latch plate journaled in said housing and having notches to be engaged by the dog, certain of said notches being of one depth to disengage the dog from the ratchet teeth of the latch rod and the other notches being of a diiierent depth to permit engagement of the dog with the ratchet teeth of the latch rod, a spring acting on said dog to maintain the latter in riding engagement with the notches of the latch plate, a ratchet gear secured on the latch plate, a ratchet dog coacting with the ratchet gear and operatively connected with the actuating rod.

5. An accelerator attachment comprising a housing, a rack reciprocally mounted within said housing, means to connect the said rack to an accelerator, a latch dog pivotally mounted in the housing and movable into and out of engagement with the said rack, a. ratchet wheel rotatably mounted in the housing and having notches engageable by the dog, certain of said notches being of a depth to discharge the dog from the rack and other of the said notches being of a depth to permit engagement of the dog with the rack, an actuating element slidably mounted Within said housing, and means carried by said actuating element to impart a step by step rotation to the said ratchet means.

6. An accelerator attachment comprising a casing, a rack bar reciprocally mounted in the casing, a pivoted dog engageable with the rack, a ratchet means rotatably mounted within the casing adapted in certain positions to permit the engagement of the dog with the rack and in other positions to prevent engagement therebetween, and means to manually impart a step by step ro tation to the said ratchet means.

'7. An accelerator attachment comprsing a casing, a rack bar reciprocally mounted within said casing, a spring actuated dog normally engaging the rack, ratchet means rotatably mounted within said casing and having perpiheral notches of varying depths to receive one end of the pivoted dog under the resilient action of the said spring, certain of said notches being of a depth to permit the engagement of the said dog with the rack and other of the said notches being of a depth to prevent engagement of the dog with the said rack, and means to manually progressively rotate the said ratchet means.

8. An accelerator attachment comprising a casing, a rack reciprocally mounted within said casing, a spring actuated dog normally engaging the said rack, a ratchet means rotatably journalled in said housing and having notches to be engaged by the dog, certain of said notches being of a depth to disengage the dog from the rack and other of the notches being of a depth to per mit the engagement of the dog with the rack, spring means to maintain the said dog normally engaged with the said ratchet, ratchet means formed on the said first-mentioned ratchet means, an actuating rod carried by said casing, a pawl pivotally attached to the said actuating rod and engageable with the said second-mentioned ratchet means to rotate the same upon reciprocatory movement of the said actuating rod, and spring means to normally hold the said pawl in engagement with the said ratchet means.

9. An accelerator attachment comprising a casing, a rack reciprocally mounted within said casing, a spring influenced dog normally engaging the said rack, a ratchet means rotatably journalled in said housing and having notches to be engaged by the dog, certain of said notches being of a depth to disengage the dog from the rack and other of the notches being of a depth to permit the engagement of the dog with the rack, ratchet means means formed on the said firstmentioned ratchet means, an actuating rod carried by said casing, and a pawl pivotally attached to the said actuating rod and engageable with the said second-mentioned ratchet means to rotate the same upon reciprocatory movement of the said actuating rod.

10. An accelerator attachment comprising a casing, a rack reciprocally mounted within the casing, means for connecting said rack to an accelerator, a spring actuated latch dog pivotally mounted in the housing and movable into and out of engagement with the said rack, a rotary member journalled within the casing and having cam faces adapted to engage the said latch dog to permit the engagement of the same with the rack in certain positions and to move the same out of engagement with the said rack in other positions.

11. An accelerator attachment comprising a casing, a rack reciprocally mounted within the casing, means for connecting said rack to an accelerator, a spring actuated latch dog pivotally mounted in the housing and movable into and out of engagement with the said rack, a rotary member journalled within the casing and having cam faces adapted to engage the said dog to permit the engagement of the same with the rack in certain positions, and to move the same out of engagement with the said rack in other positions, and manual means to rotate the said rotary member,

12. An accelerator attachment comprising a casing, a rack reciprocally mounted within the casing, means for connecting said rack to an accelerator, a spring influenced latch dog pivotally mounted in the housing and movable into and out of engagement with the said rack, a rotary member journalled within the casing and having cam faces adapted to be engaged by the said spring influenced dog to permit the same to move into engagement with the rack in certain positions and to move the same out of engagement with the said rack in other positions, an actuating rod slidably mounted within said casing, ratchet means attached to the said rotary member, and a ratchet pawl pivotally attached to the actuating rod and engageable with the said ratchet means to impart step by step rotation to the said rotary member.

13. An accelerator attachment comprising a A housing, a rack reciprocally mounted within the housing, means for connecting said rack to an accelerator, a spring actuated latch dog pivotally mounted in the housing and movable into and out of engagement with the said rack, and a member journaled within said housing and having cam faces adapted to engage the said dog to permit the engagement of the same with the rack in certain positions and to move the same out of engagement with the rack in other positions.

14. An accelerator attachment comprising a housing, a rack reciprocally mounted within the housing, means for connecting said rack to an accelerator, a spring actuated latch dog pivotally mounted in the housing and movable into and out of engagement with the said rack, a member journaled within said housing and having cam faces adapted to engage the said dog to permit the engagement of the same with the rack in certain positions and to move the same out of engagement with the rack in other positions, and means to manually actuate the said last-mentioned member.

ALFRED E. JOHNSON. 

